Legislators weigh in on assault weapons

Friday

Dec 21, 2012 at 2:00 AM

For Assemblyman Frank Skartados, the need to tighten New York's ban on assault weapons couldn't be more plain in the wake of last week's school shootings in Newtown, Conn., which were carried out with a military-style rifle that is now legal in New York.

BY CHRIS MCKENNA

For Assemblyman Frank Skartados, the need to tighten New York's ban on assault weapons couldn't be more plain in the wake of last week's school shootings in Newtown, Conn., which were carried out with a military-style rifle that is now legal in New York.

"How many more children have to die, and how many more massacres must we endure before we do the right thing and restrict access to military-type assault rifles?" asked the Milton Democrat.

But for Assemblywoman Annie Rabbitt, the hitch lies in the bill Assembly Democrats have repeatedly passed to try to expand the state's definition of what constitutes an assault weapon. Rabbitt, who opposes the bill, argues that it would have the effect of outlawing all semiautomatic weapons, including those hunters use.

"Most hunting rifles are semiautomatic, and passage of this bill would have made these guns illegal for law-abiding hunters," the Greenwood Lake Republican said.

Horror over the killing of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School has reignited debate over gun control in Washington and state capitals.

President Barack Obama announced this week that Vice President Joe Biden will lead a commission to craft legislative proposals. In Albany, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has indicated he'll move quickly to pursue new gun restrictions. Among the priorities will be prohibiting firearms like the Bushmaster semiautomatic rifle — and high-capacity ammunition clips — that Adam Lanza reportedly used in his rampage in Connecticut. At the federal level, that would mean reviving an assault-weapons ban that expired in 2004, while the focus in Albany would be on tightening an existing law prohibiting that type of firearms.

Both of New York's U.S. senators, Democrats Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, say they support bringing back the federal ban.

So does Sean Patrick Maloney, the Democrat who unseated Republican Rep. Nan Hayworth in November and will represent all of Orange County starting next month. Republican Rep. Chris Gibson, whose new district includes Sullivan and Ulster counties, didn't respond to requests for his position.

The issue is more complicated for some of the region's current and incoming representatives in Albany. Some balked at the specific bill Assembly Democrats have developed to redefine assault weapons, while leaving open the possibility of accepting an alternative.

"I am looking for language to improve this bill so that it has an impact on public safety without jeopardizing Second Amendment rights," Republican Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney said.

Republican state Sen. John Bonacic, who hasn't voted on the bill because the Senate has never taken it up, argued that new gun restrictions would be more effective at the national level than in states, since a "deranged killer knows no state boundaries."

On the state level, he said he doubts the Senate would pass the Assembly's assault-weapons bill in its current form, but added that doesn't mean that "nothing can be done." "I personally do not understand why sportsmen would need a semiautomatic weapon, but clearly many feel that they do, and this must be part of the legitimate conversation," he said. "It must be a conversation based on facts, not emotions."

James Skoufis, a Woodbury Democrat elected in November to take the seat of retiring Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun, said he supports tightening New York's ban on assault weapons, but hopes the pending bill can be adjusted to exclude hunting guns. He noted that some hunting rifles come with a folding stock, which is one of the criteria in the Assembly bill for an assault weapon.

cmckenna@th-record.com

The Record asked state and federal representatives for their positions on assault-weapon legislation. They were given two days to respond. Here's what they said:

Federal lawmakers

Question: Should Congress reinstate the federal assault weapon ban?

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY

Answer: Yes

Comment: "We should be able to agree on ... banning military-style weapons that have no recreational sports use."

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY

Answer: Yes

Comment: None

Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook

No response

Rep.-elect Sean Maloney, D-Cold Spring

Answer: Yes

Comment: "We owe it to our children to put partisanship aside and get to work ensuring that this never happens again. Reinstating the assault weapons ban is an important step in that process."

State lawmakers

Question: Do you support Assembly Bill 6108, which would tighten the state ban on assault weapons?

Sen. John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope

Answer: Undecided

Comment: "I am not going to speculate on how I would vote on a bill that my constituents have not had a chance to contemplate in the wake of the recent tragedy."

Sen. William Larkin Jr., R-Cornwall-on-Hudson

No response

Assemblyman Frank Skartados, D-Milton

Answer: Yes

Comment: "How many more children have to die and how many more massacres must we endure before we do the right thing and restrict access to military type assault rifles?"

Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston

Answer: Yes

Comment: "My record clearly provides for protection of the public while respecting the rights of sportsmen ... and others who are simply exercising their lawful rights."

Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, D-Forestburgh

Answer: Undecided

Comment: "As soon as we get the bill, I'll have to read it, and we'll conference it. There has to be a three-way agreement."

Assemblywoman Annie Rabbitt, R-Greenwood Lake

Answer: No

Comment: "Not only did this bill have many flaws, but these flaws would have led to the ban of all semiautomatic guns."

Assemblyman-elect James Skoufis, D-Woodbury

Answer: Undecided

Comment: "I think the bill's intent is good and necessary, although I would pair it with an effort to keep any and all guns out of the hands of people with mental illness."

Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney, R-New Hartford

Answer: No

Comment: "This bill needs to be rewritten. As drafted, it is vague and will not promote public safety."